Abstract
On six occasions during a 15-month period, the private well and spring water supplies in a modern rural neighborhood of 78 households were examined for total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, and standard plate count bacteria. More than one-third of the water supplies were unsatisfactory on at least one occasion as judged by standard plate counts over 103/ml and the presence of coliforms, fecal coliforms, and/or S. aureus. Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli were the most frequently isolated total coliforms. At least 12 other genera of bacteria were identified from standard plate count agar. Coliform contamination was found to be higher after periods of rainfall, and high standard plate counts were more prevalent during warmer weather. These observations probably reflect leakage of surface water into improperly sealed wells or aquifer contamination during winter and the lack of chlorination to control microbial regrowth during the warm season. An inverse correlation was found between the presence of high standard plate counts and incidence of coliforms. Consumer education and at least a twice yearly monitoring of private water supplies (winter and summer) are suggested methods to signal that treatment may be necessary to reduce the risk of waterborne disease.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bagley S. T., Seidler R. J. Comparative pathogenicity of environmental and clinical Klebsiella. Health Lab Sci. 1978 Apr;15(2):104–111. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Casman E. P., Bennett R. W., Dorsey A. E., Stone J. E. The micro-slide gel double diffusion test for the detection and assay of staphylococcal enterotoxins. Health Lab Sci. 1969 Oct;6(4):185–198. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- GELDREICH E. E., KENNER B. A., KABLER P. W. OCCURRENCE OF COLIFORMS, FECAL COLIFORMS, AND STREPTOCOCCI ON VEGETATION AND INSECTS. Appl Microbiol. 1964 Jan;12:63–69. doi: 10.1128/am.12.1.63-69.1964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kligler I. J. Non-Lactose Fermenting Bacteria from Polluted Wells and Subsoil. J Bacteriol. 1919 Jan;4(1):35–42. doi: 10.1128/jb.4.1.35-42.1919. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Klipstein F. A., Holdeman L. V., Corcino J. J., Moore W. E. Enterotoxigenic intestinal bacteria in tropical sprue. Ann Intern Med. 1973 Nov;79(5):632–641. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-79-5-632. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LeChevallier M. W., Seidler R. J. Staphylococcus aureus in rural drinking water. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 Apr;39(4):739–742. doi: 10.1128/aem.39.4.739-742.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Martin W. J., Yu P. K., Washington J. A., 2nd Epidemiologic significance of Klebsiella pneumoniae. A 3-month study. Mayo Clin Proc. 1971 Dec;46(12):785–793. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sandhu S. S., Warren W. J., Nelson P. Magnitude of pollution indicator organisms in rural potable water. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Apr;37(4):744–749. doi: 10.1128/aem.37.4.744-749.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shayegani M., Lee A. M., Parsons L. M. A scheme for identification of nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria. Health Lab Sci. 1977 Apr;14(2):83–94. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sperber W. H., Tatini S. R. Interpretation of the tube coagulase test for identification of Staphylococcus aureus. Appl Microbiol. 1975 Apr;29(4):502–505. doi: 10.1128/am.29.4.502-505.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Waksman S. A. ANTAGONISTIC RELATIONS OF MICROORGANISMS. Bacteriol Rev. 1941 Sep;5(3):231–291. doi: 10.1128/br.5.3.231-291.1941. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]